Miami - Tropical Storm Sandy was expected to become a hurricane on Wednesday as it approaches the south coast of Jamaica, the United States National Hurricane Centre said, prompting authorities on the Caribbean island to close schools and prepare shelters to take in residents of flood prone areas.
The storm was centred about 420km south-southwest of the Jamaican capital, Kingston, on Tuesday evening and had top sustained winds of 85km/h.
Forecasters said a tropical storm watch might be issued for South Florida on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, but the storm did not pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico, where US oil and gas operations are clustered.
A hurricane warning was in effect for both Jamaica and Cuba, meaning residents should expect heavy rains and strong winds within 48 hours, although forecasters said Sandy is expected to be only a weak Category One hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, with winds topping out at 128km/h.
Computer models showed Sandy was on a projected path that would cut across the middle of Jamaica near the capital, Kingston, and the popular north coast resort of Ocho Rios, before passing over eastern Cuba and the Bahamas.
Sandy is expected to dump as much as 15cm to 30cm of rain across parts of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba, with as much as 50cm possible in some places, forecasters said. - Reuters